The 12 Minute Meditation That Shifted Everything For Me

A little over a year ago, I was in the throes of what I now see as burnout and depression. I was about to enter a darker phase filled with grief and loss, but I didn’t know that yet. I was already suffering mentally and just trying to get through the days as best as I could. During that time, I journaled a lot, which is something I’ve enjoyed doing since childhood because it helps me understand what I’m going through. So just now, I looked back at my journal from September 2021 and here’s an excerpt of what I wrote.

Meditating can be really hard for me sometimes. Mostly actually. But I feel called to do it, like the more I do it, I will find the answers I am looking for. I want to use it as a tool to get deeper with myself. I know I have the answers within.

Shortly after writing that, I signed up for a 40 day meditation challenge with Jamie Graber, aka Organically Jamie. I don’t mean to exaggerate, but the 12 minute meditation I started doing everyday slowly shifted everything for me.

Over the years, many people have told me all about their meditation practice and how it’s done wonders for their lives. I’ve always believed them, but figured that kind of thing just didn’t apply to me. I’ve tried meditating on and off for years and it’s always been a struggle and something I sometimes dreaded, kind of like exercise.

But this meditation challenge was different. For starters, it was my introduction to Kundalini, which is Sanskrit for “coiled snake,” and describes the energy that rests, often dormant, coiled at the base of our spine. Kundalini pulls this energy up to the crown of our heads, creating an upward flow of energy and balancing our chakras and energetic bodies.

The specific meditation we did in the 40 day challenge is called Kirtan Kriya. According to clinical psychologist and yoga therapist Chris Walling, doing 12 minutes of Kirtan Kriya daily is proven to enhance brain and mental health, increase longevity, and keep your mind sharp.

I didn’t know or even care about this at the time when I signed up. All I knew was that it piqued my curiosity and up until then, I hadn’t found a meditation practice I could stick with. Once I started the practice however, it became something I actually looked forward to.

A slow shift

Now when I say the meditation began to shift everything for me, it is only now that I can see this with some clarity. You don’t always know what is happening when you’re going through it. But shortly after I began the practice, we experienced a series of heartbreaking deaths in our near immediate family, followed by big transitions, unexpected travel, health scares, inconsistent childcare, and waves of grief. Only now as I share this am I realizing how heavy it’s all been. And yet, despite all the hardship (and thank goodness, we’re all doing mostly okay), the thing that has kept me sane and grounded throughout the last year is this daily meditation practice. It’s a short period in my day where I can be completely alone with myself, something I always yearn for as an extroverted people pleaser. Beyond keeping me grounded, it’s given me room to connect with myself and my own inner wisdom. Again, I don’t mean to exaggerate, but it’s been a subtle shift towards something really positive. I am still figuring it all out, but I can tell you now, it’s a good thing.

Are you curious about trying out Kirtan Kriya for yourself? If so, I point you to instructions below.

How to practice Kirtan Kriya

There is a certain way to do this meditation, with a specific posture and structure around the mantra and mudras, or finger movements. If you’re curious about how to do it, start with the instructions on Jamie’s website and watch the video below. Now that I’ve been doing it for some time, this is the song file I use everyday for it, on Spotify.